This chapter is from the book

This chapter is from the book

The foundation of the PC remains steadyand fast. But changes are on
the way.

Figure
3.1 Intel's 875P chipset, pictured here, is the one to have if
you're in the market. Not only is it feature laden and right quick, it
should support Intel's next-gen processors as well.

The CPU and case enclosure usually dominate the spotlight, but the most
important decision to be made when building a PC is choosing which chipset and
motherboard your new PC will be built upon.

The motherboardwe often call it a "mobo" for shortis
the unsung hero of the modern PC, and is the single most important component
because it determines all other hardware selections as well as upgrade options.

The biggest mistake a budding PC enthusiast can make is to underestimate the
importance of a well-designed, properly configured motherboard. A PC's
motherboard is the technological equivalent of Grand Central
Stationvirtually everything in the computer connects to it, and in order
for your PC to "do" anything the commands always have to be routed
through the motherboard. A motherboard determines all future upgrading options,
limits how much performance you'll ever extract from your rig, and is the
number one factor in your system's overall level of stability.

Upon close examination of a motherboard, you will note two distinct
pieces of silicon. One is near the top of the motherboard and the other is near
the bottom. These two chips are called the "core-logic chipset," and
they really run the show. One of these chips controls things on the top half of
the motherboard, while the other handles the data communications of the bottom
half. Together they comprise all the features and elements that are
"onboard," meaning that they're already on the motherboard.
Integrated, onboard features include a LAN port, modem, audio, and even a
wireless access point!

What the North Bridge and South Bridge Do

All of the communication between components connected to a motherboard occurs
through the board's core logic chipset, which is composed of two
chipsthe north bridge and the south bridge. The north bridge chip resides
near the top of the motherboard, next to the CPU socket, and serves as a
four-way intersection connecting the CPU, memory, video card (AGP) bus, and its
partner, the south bridge chip. The south bridge chip resides at the bottom of
the motherboard, and allows plugged-in devices such as network cards or modems
to communicate with the CPU and the memory. The south bridge handles most of a
motherboard's "value-added" featuressuch as the IDE
controller, USB controller, and onboard sound and Ethernet.